Unable to Breathe
by Aeternum Spe
Summary: The gods needed a pupil; someone to teach their extraordinary powers to. Yet, as candidate after candidate struggled to pass the Godly Test, only one lived up to their expectations: Percy Jackson, the mute who followed Apollo around like a puppy.
1. Prologue

As a cold wind swept through the area, Percy pulled his thin jacket closer. Winter was coming, so the cold air was to be expected, but really, Percy shivered, this was ridiculous. Then it started to rain.

Not just the small drizzle, either. It was pouring. The wind whipped everything around in a mid-fall mid-winter tantrum, throwing icy raindrops on everything they could touch. Manhattan was drenched, Percy watched from his spot on the sidewalk. Honestly, his mind was blown from how quickly everything escalated.

_Mother Nature is one nasty bitch._

And as if to acknowledge the thought, thunder rumbled overhead as lightning flashed somewhere over the Hudson Bay. Percy burrowed deeper into the worn cotton. It didn't help much, but it was something. Percy squeezed his eyes closed. Until morning. He just had to make it to morning then everything would be alright.

How did he even know that? Percy shook his head. It didn't matter. Not now, at least. He was drenched, cold, hungry, and probably sick with something incurable from being out in the streets so long. A good two years out here, and he was only seven. And it wasn't about to change.

Percy relaxed his head against the brick wall behind him as he pulled his knees to his chest. _Maybe. _He still had that feeling in his stomach. Percy smiled lightly. He was already insane, why not embrace it with whatever Chaos happened tomorrow. He had nothing to lose.

As Percy let himself sleep for once, thunder rippled across the sky and a blonde haired man frowned for the first time in a hundred years. Or maybe weeks, he didn't count.

Apollo walked along the streets of Manhattan, looking for a new lay. And that's when he saw it, horniness completely ruined by this…child just sitting there on the sidewalk. He wasn't that worried, the kid was still breathing, but it did stir something in the pit of his stomach. Almost like he ate a bad taco. Apollo watched the kid take in a shaky breath, and sighed. It wouldn't hurt to make sure the kid wasn't dying or anything.

Checking to make sure nobody was really paying attention (He didn't need people thinking he was a pedophile), Apollo kneeled down so he wouldn't have to strain his awesome back. The kid slept on obliviously. Apollo put a hand to the kid's forehead. Hot. So the kid _was _sick. Apollo frowned. He would have to heal the stupid thing. But for some reason, he didn't mind it _too_ much. Maybe it was the rain. Rain never mixed well with his awesomeness.

Apollo let out a breath before placing his hand on the kid's chest. He could feel bones through the thin jacket. Again, that feeling inside of him. What was a child doing out in the street? He should be with a family, or an orphanage. Not out in the rain, sick and hungry. Apollo shook his head quickly. He shouldn't care. He doesn't care. All he wanted to do was heal the child, then he could go out and find a pretty face for the night.

Apollo forced himself to relax. He was starting to burn the kid's jacket. Apollo focused on healing. Infections from cuts, damage from hunger, all healed as he forced his powers into the kid's body. Surprisingly, the only thing that seemed to be wrong was something on the kid's neck. Apollo had to admit, he was slightly curious. He powers didn't seem to be able to heal it, either. Something absolutely awesome had to be there for that to happen. Apollo reached forward to move away the shirt covering it.

A frail hand grabbed his wrist. Apollo looked down to see green eyes stare back into his own, and cursed his luck. Of course the kid would wake up now. Not when he first arrived, nooo, it had to be when he was reaching for the kid's jacket. _Damn it. _Apollo swore silently. _Why do bad things have to happen to beautiful people like me?_

The kid had pulled away from him, obviously thinking the same thing (Apollo was just that handsome). The kid's eyes were wide and his skin unnaturally pale. He was shivering, but Apollo figured it was because of the rain that was still pouring. It wasn't because of him. Not a chance. Beautiful people weren't backed away from. The kid was just cold.

Apollo made his mouth twitch into what he hoped was a nice smile. He didn't need to the kid to scream. Or run. The kid backed away more. Apollo smiled wider, eyes forming cute little moons. The kid looked absolutely traumatized. There was obviously only one solution to this problem. Apollo sighed. This was wasting precious time with pretty girls. He deserved a medal for his kindness.

Apollo lunged…and missed. His head ran into the wall. The kid was already running down the nearest alley, jacket flapping. Apollo cursed and gave chase. This brat wouldn't ruin his reputation! If he couldn't get out of this situation by using his awesome charm, then he would take away the cause of the situation. But damn the kid was fast. How did a starved brat get the energy to do this? Apollo's eyes widened.

Silence. It rang in his ears, his whole body even as rain continued to pound against the ground. The kid was gone. Like he wasn't even there in the first place. Apollo scrambled forward, eyes on the pavement, looking for footprints, anything! The kid couldn't have disappeared. It wasn't possible for mortals. Apollo gritted his teeth. When he found the brat…

There! Noise coming from the connecting alley. Apollo grinned in triumph. He walked around the corner, ready to take the kid someplace that didn't have pretty ladies, and stopped because he was just shocked out of his beautiful mind. The kid was there. And some man holding the kid against a wall. The feeling of bad tacos churned his stomach. Apollo felt anger turn his smile into a frown, shock totally gone as he stared at the filth that dared to touch what was his.

"What do you think you're doing?" Apollo demanded. He was already stalking forward, not really caring about the answer. All he could think about was the kid and how frightened he looked. Like a kicked puppy staring at his beloved master. It made him sick.

_I'm never eating tacos again._

The man and his stupid beady eyes looked over at Apollo, but Apollo's fist was already there. He made sure to make it extra hot. The man flew back holding his face as his screams echoed in the alley.

"Are you okay?" Apollo demanded as he kneeled before the brat. Seeing the fear, Apollo tried to tone down the anger that still made his body feel hot. "I'm not going to hurt you, so don't be afraid. I'm only…I'm only trying to help." Apollo breathed out, distancing himself from the brat as he saw tears well up in those puppy eyes. "If it means anything, I'm sorry for chasing you."

No answer. Apollo huffed quietly. The man was gone now, probably off telling anybody who'd listen about him. Reputation: destroyed. At least the feeling was gone. That was something. Apollo leaned up against the opposite wall, sighing. It was almost morning. The brat took longer to heal than he thought. Apollo locked eyes with green ones.

"So what's a brat like you doing out here? You're obviously not living like this by choice. Parents dead or something?" Apollo waited for an answer. And got nothing, not even a nod. Totally rude. "You should at least thank me. I did save your life twice. You should respect awesome people like me."

And silence. Again. Not even a peep. Apollo was slightly annoyed. "You shouldn't ignore beautiful people, brat. We have power. If we wanted to, we could rule the world with our faces alone."

Ahh, got something. The brat uncurled from his protective ball he had cocooned himself in and rolled his eyes. Apollo hid a smile. Victory. But the brat didn't stop there. Slow and shaky, the brat climbed to his feet, looking dizzy for a moment. Probably a head wound, he's have to fix that later. The kid was walking to him, smirking like a little bastard. And then he stopped. Apollo waited.

The brat was watching him, but Apollo was watching the hand pulling away the collar of the kid's jacket. What was the brat doing…oh. Apollo stared, reaching forward cautiously. There was a jagged, red line that ran across the width of the brat's neck and disappeared somewhere behind the mop of black hair that needed to be washed (smelled awful). The scar was old, and done by a knife. It made sense.

_I can heal lots of things. _Apollo thought grimly. _But I can't heal something that's already been healed by time._

He was so close to touching the scar when the brat jerked back, covering it up again. Apollo watched him, that stupid feeling back again. "Is that why you can't speak?" Apollo received a hesitant nod this time, and something inside of him stirred. What was this feeling that made it so hard to leave the kid. He never had to chase the brat. Or save him. All he had to do was change his appearance and he could go back to banging whichever woman he wanted. Reputation saved. Why should he care if one child died?

And that was thing. He did care. Slightly. Only a little. For whatever reason that only the Fates probably knew. Apollo felt the stirring in the pit of his stomach harden. Apollo sighed with resignation. He knew what he had to do.

"I'm going to take you away, alright?" Apollo promised. "I don't know why, I don't care why, but something doesn't want me to leave you here, so I'm taking you with me. You got that?"

Green eyes narrowed at him. Quick as ever, Apollo grabbed the brat under the arms and hoisted him up, holding him away because the kid knew how to bite. And kick. Apollo fought the urge to wrap his arms around his stomach. Damn the brat could kick. Apollo brought him close and wrapped his arms around the brat, preventing any movement. It was an awkward hug. And Apollo wanted to cover his nose. Man did the brat stink.

"I need you to cover your—ouch! Don't bite me, you brat! Cover your damn eyes or I'll pull them out with your nasty teeth!"

The kid complied, hesitantly burying his head in Apollo's shoulder. Small hands clutched his shirt, and Apollo almost cooed until those little hands suddenly dug into his shoulders. The pain! Apollo yelped, suddenly embarrassed and angry and feeling the need to strangle the brat go through his arms wrapped around a body so easy to break…and then he caught a glimpse of the scar. Apollo let out a breath, finding it wise to ignore it. For now.

"I never did catch your name." He said jokingly, more focused on teleporting home than anything else. He felt the kid move. "Probably don't even have one." Apollo chuckled at his own joke that was downright awesome simply because he was the one who told it. But then he stopped. Again. By that damn brat moving his fingers on his shoulder, forming letters. Or alien gibberish. Nope, definitely letters, he thought once he felt the light touch form a 'P'.

"That's it?" Apollo asked when the fingers stopped. "Paul, Peter, Pee-head? You can't do that to a person. That's against the rules of the universe. No name games. They suck."

Apollo didn't get an answer and decided to work on the teleporting again. "I bet your name's stupid anyway." He huffed. The fingers clenched. "See, that proves it!"

He felt hair brush against his neck as a small head moved to probably bite him again. Not wanting anymore pain or satisfaction from the brat, Apollo teleported from the alley…and right into the Throne room. And Zeus was on his throne. Well shit. Apollo did the only thing he could think of. He turned around and started running.

* * *

Zeus knew Apollo was a weird one. But never this weird. Apollo had popped in out of nowhere, saw him, and then started sprinting to the door. Zeus wasn't sure if should question the action, but he was the King of the Gods, and it was his duty to make sure everything was alright. Zeus just hoped he wasn't making a mistake.

"Apollo?"

Apollo stopped, looking almost guilty before that shit-eating grin was back on his face, and Zeus regretted ever opening his mouth. "Uh, he-hey Zeus, what's hanging?"

Zeus waited for Apollo to turn around, but the sun god remained facing the doors, head only facing him. Zeus shook his head at the weirdness. What went wrong with this one? Zeus grumbled under his breath. Seeing Apollo start…was he wiggling? Seeing Apollo start wiggling, Zeus decided to get to the point. The quicker Apollo was gone, the more peace Zeus could get.

"Have you found a candidate yet?" Zeus asked. Apollo froze. Zeus continued. "Training starts soon for new recruits. One more year is all you have left, Apollo, then your time is—"

"I kidnap—I mean I have one." Apollo said.

"Really?" Zeus raised an eyebrow, doubtful. "And why hasn't he been introduced yet?"

"Uh…worms! He has worms. Nasty little things they are. Poor thing has been sick as a dog." Apollo said.

Zeus rubbed his forehead, highly doubting the boy had worms, but decided not to say anything against it. He might catch whatever happened to Apollo. Zeus sighed. "Whatever. Just bring him to the opening ceremony."

Apollo grinned. "Will do, old man!" And then he was gone, already sprinting out of the Throne room. Zeus shook his head and relaxed it against the back of his throne. He shouldn't have to deal with this.

* * *

Total rewrite of the first chapter. Hope you all enjoyed. Next chapter should be up soon.


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Thanks for supporting this story, even if it was last updated a year ago. I'm not going to say anything too sappy, because you never go sappy on the internet (it's serious business), but you guys are awesome.

* * *

Annabeth Chase knew something had changed the moment she woke up to silence.

_What have those idiots done now? _Annabeth thought, getting up slowly just in case this was some sort of prank. She didn't need a repeat of last year. She would hurt them if they did that again. Badly. But nothing jumped out at her. No spiders on the bed, no cream on her hands, not even mouse traps on the floor; Annabeth was now slightly afraid. _They've planned something big. _She really wasn't too keen on going out of the cabin anymore. Let the idiots be idiots, so she could stay safe inside and read books on wonderful architecture.

A girl could only dream, couldn't she?

The weather was cold, winter coming swiftly, so Annabeth was quick with her shower. The warm water felt good on her tired muscles. Training had become more often, more harsh and brutal. Instead of simply bringing the opponent to their knees, they were now urged to continue attacking them. Annabeth wasn't exactly sure if this meant something important, or if she was just being overly paranoid, but it didn't sit right with her. Kids shouldn't kill kids.

Getting dressed and heading outside, not before sliding her knife into the sheath she kept on her belt, Annabeth was surprised for the second time that day (A huge feat). No one else was around. Absolute silence with only the chirping of the birds and the morning sun, everything else seemed to stand still. Of course that notion was completely laughable, so she didn't think about it long, but Annabeth wasn't about to forget it, either, because it meant something. It had to. She never thought about useless things, so it couldn't be a useless thought. What it meant was just out of reach. It would come to her. It always did.

But there was another problem she had to solve first. Where was everyone else? If she wasn't as intelligent as she was (And Annabeth was really smart compared to all the boneheads that lived there with her), she might've thought everyone disappeared or went without her to the daily gathering of all the Candidates. But that was the least logical choice her mind could come with, so they were obviously somewhere. The only question was where?

They wouldn't be at the Big House. The Arena was closed. Breakfast would be over by now. So that left…Annabeth frowned. Why would they be there? She started forward, more cautious now than ever. If they were there, that meant something happened. Something changed. Just like that feeling she had when she woke up. Annabeth chewed on her lips nervously.

The Trials were coming closer. If this signified what she thought it did, then it would only be a matter of time before the close-knit group of friends she had made would become her enemies. Katie and Selena, the only girls that weren't horrible to hang around, Jason and Thalia, the only family she actually cared for. And Annabeth could never forget about Luke…All of them she would eventually have to kill, and it left a bad taste in her mouth. Gods, she hoped she was wrong for once.

The random Pegasus' fluttering around camp were jumpy and agitated, snorting at each other harshly. The waves at the beach were wilder than normal, and if possible, the water seemed darker. The trees looked as if they were wilting. Annabeth quickened her pace. Stay calm. All she should had to do was stay calm and everything would be alright. Hopefully.

Annabeth walked around the corner, stopping because the dread in her stomach became too heavy to move any farther uphill. There they were, all clumped together around the whiteboard nailed to Camp Half-Blood's welcome sign. She forced herself to move forward because there was no use turning back. Only the scared turned away from their problems. And she wasn't afraid. She wasn't.

_Keep telling yourself that_. Annabeth thought bitterly. _Maybe you'll believe it one day._

Annabeth pushed through the crowd, ignoring their shouts of protest. She got to the front (finally), but it took everything she had not to turn around again, because there it was. The thing that scared her the most, was staring back her almost mockingly. Annabeth's heartbeat quickened. Why did this have to happen now? Why did that damn god have to act responsible now?

On the whiteboard, the one that listed all of the candidates and who they represented, to the side of Apollo's picture, the blank spot where a name should be was finally filled. _Candidate Unknown, _It read, but that didn't matter because it was _filled. _And once every god had at least one candidate, the Trials would begin. Annabeth clenched her fist angrily, turning around to stare at the faces of the all the kids she practically grew up with. They were her enemies now. Annabeth felt like crying for the first time in a long time.

_I wish they had pranked me instead_

* * *

When Percy was finally put down, he gave the mystery man something he absolutely deserved. A kick where it hurt. Who did this man think he was taking him like some kind of rapist? Percy huffed and crossed his arms, looking up at the man that was kneeling before him in obvious pain. He totally deserved it. Percy had to smirk at the glare, though. Those golden eyes promised pain, but Percy couldn't get past the sadistic pleasure brought by the satisfaction of bringing someone powerful to their knees. It was an elating feeling.

"You _little brat._" The man hissed, holding himself. "What in Hades was that for?" High-pitched, strained, in obvious pain; Percy wished he could laugh at the pathetic man before him. Never mind he was just like that little over an hour ago. The man was funnier than he could ever be. "Shit, no more heroic deeds for me, fuck that, I'll be the douchebag of Olympus and get all the ladies with my badassery…"

Percy decided it would be best to ignore him for now. He glanced around the room. Yellow walls, white furniture, orange pillows on weird shaped couches, big windows and curtains draped to the hardwood floors, potted plants that needed water, a picture of a cat, and air too hot for any human being to withstand. It felt like a warm summer's day, something Percy was grateful for considering he was out in the cold for weeks. The floor had old clothes that smelled of cheap perfume, Percy wrinkled his nose, and bottles of…golden stuff were scattered on the coffee table wear the man's head was resting. He didn't kick him that hard, did he?

Looking around the room again, he found what he wanted lying underneath the couch (why was it there in the first place?), along with a pen that wrote in orange. Like he didn't see that coming. Percy sighed and began writing.

Apollo was in a world of pain until something tapped him on the shoulder. Then it was agony because it scared him enough to jump and hit his foot on the leg of his beautiful couch he had handpicked himself. Looking up, Apollo glared at the one responsible for it all. "_What?" _He hissed.

'_I'm sorry.' _Something orange and written sloppily said, and Apollo looked up to see eyes that seemed somewhat apologetic. All anger was gone. Poof. Zap. Not there anymore. Apollo was starting to wonder if something was wrong with him, he never had so many differing emotions in one day before. It was exhausting.

Apollo sighed as he stood up and winced. "I guess I deserved it. I brought you a fate worse than the one you had, you're right to hate me." The kid rolled his eyes, and Apollo smiled slightly. At least he got something. "You don't even know my name, do you?" A nod this time. "Apollo, the almighty powerful Sun God at your service, nice to meet you."

The next reaction was downright rude. The kid pointed and shook his head, looking smug as he wrote down something hateful. '_Sun God? You? No way. You're too stupid to be someone important.'_

"Hey! I'll have you know I'm the smartest person you'll find around here! Damn little brat, respect your betters!" Apollo yelled, absolutely horrified by the disrespect. Beautiful people like him didn't need this.

'_Show me one and I'll do it' _that smug little smirk was back on the kid's stupid, stupid face. Apollo wanted to rip his hair out.

"This is why I hate kids. They smell, they're rude, and they have to challenge authority every single minute of every single day. I regret everything I've ever done that landed me here." Apollo turned to the brat. "At least I'm not the one with the stupid name. Oh that's right, I don't even know it."

'_Why should I tell a pedophile my name?'_

"I am a GOD, not a PEDOPHILE. How dare you describe me as such!" Apollo huffed. "I bet it's stupid anyway."

'_Like you?'_

Apollo snorted. "Jealous much? I can't say I blame you. My name is screamed by beautiful faces everywhere as I—" Something smacked him in his face, abruptly cutting him off. "Ungrateful little brat, can't you just be nice for once in your—"

This time Apollo cut himself off, because on the notepad he now held in his hands, a name was written in messy scrawl. He felt his breath catch in his throat. Apollo wasn't serious about knowing the brat's name; he didn't want to get too close to the kid in case he…died in the Trials. But now that he had it in his hands, Apollo cradled it like a precious treasure, because that bad taco feeling was stirring in the pit in his stomach again, and he suddenly felt the guilt he had tried to keep at bay. This kid…Percy…was probably going to die because he had wanted to do something nice for a change. Why couldn't he doing anything right?

"I'm sorry…Percy. It's all my fault." Apollo bowed his head. "You would have been safer on the streets."

The notepad was taken from his hands again and Apollo let it go. It was shoved back under his nose a second later, and Apollo was finally forced to face the bitter truth once and for all. _'What do mean?'_

"T-the Trials, or games. The Gods host it every hundred years, looking for a pupil strong enough to hold onto a piece of their powers." Apollo laughed bitterly. "It's for a completely selfish reason, too. The chosen one will be nothing but a hopeless hero thrown into battle after battle the gods don't feel like fighting in at the moment. Death on the streets would have been a more merciful way to die."

'_A pupil?'_

"Yeah, one kid picked out of all the other candidates that survive the "Final Battle". I've tried not to participate, lying about not finding a suitable player for their horrible game, or being too busy. But it seems my luck has run out. I'm so sorry, so so sorry. I shouldn't have tried to help." Apollo looked up when a tiny hand was placed on his shoulder, green eyes stared at him and Apollo was memorized by their depth.

'_I owe you my life, and if participating in these games will save yours, I'll do it a millions if I have to. For you, because you saved mine. Don't be sorry.'_

"You're a good kid, you know that, brat?" Apollo ruffled Percy's hair, smirking at the glare he received for it. "And I guess you're right. I can't change anything now. I just wish you didn't have to do this." Apollo gazed into those green eyes again. "But I'll do everything, everything I can, to make sure you survive. I promise."

'_I'll hold you to that.'_

* * *

Another short chapter, but an update almost a year late. Don't worry, chapters will get longer and updates more frequent. I have a plot now. And if you spot any grammar mistakes, let me know. I kind of rushed.


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